Congregational Church on God's Acre, New Canaan CT 06840
NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT 06840
New Canaan, Connecticut is located in Fairfield County, Connecticut. To the North is Lewisboro and Poundridge, New York, to the East is Wilton, Connecticut, to the South is Darien, Connecticut and to the South and Southwest is the city of Stamford, Connecticut.
Deli at Mead Park in New Canaan CT 06840
According to CNN Money, in 2008 New Canaan had the highest median family income in the United States. The population is 20,000+/- and while the population density is 876.5 people per square mile, the town has a feeling of quiet dignity and open space.
Canaan Parish was established in 1731 but there were not enough people to create a town until 1801 when it was incorporated and so, unlike many of the surrounding towns there is no real Main Street or town square. Basic agriculture of apples, onions, grain and the raising of pigs and cattle were the early work of the settlers all closely tied to the church. In the late 18th and early 19th century shoe making became the major industry in town and small companies grew up in different parts of town instead of the center of town.
The big change came in 1869 when the branch line railroad from Stamford was pushed to New Canaan. Two things happened quickly; goods could be shipped easily to New York and the wealthy New Yorkers could find the beauty of the town for their vacations and then found that they could commute to their jobs in the City in under one hour. The beautiful estates that are sprinkled throughout New Canaan are a testament to these early families that moved from the city.
New Canaan prides itself on its Public Schools which are constantly rated at the top or close to the top of every
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list. Forbes rated New Canaan as the third best school in the United States for communities with median house prices of $ 800,000. There are five schools in town: three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. The buildings all are constantly updated with the latest educational tools. In 2008, the median SAT score was 1804, the highest in the state of Connecticut. New Canaan is the only school system in the state to offer foreign language study per middle school.
In the 1940s and 1950s New Canaan attracted world famous architects who created many cutting edge homes the most famous of which is Philip Johnson’s “Glass House” which today can be seen by appointment. As a result of this, the town started to attract well known people in the arts and media and today people as diverse as Glenn Beck and Bryan Williams call New Canaan home.
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New Canaan is a shopping center for high end merchandise with its art galleries, jewelry stores, restaurants, gift shops, candy stores and clothing stores such as J.Crew and Ann Taylor. And yet it is close to one of the major cities in Connecticut, Stamford with its malls, discount stores, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and major companies such as UBS, NBS, GE Capital, Conair, Pitney Bowes and Xerox. It is possible to commute to Stamford and New York via the railroad or you can use the Merritt Parkway which crosses the southern end of New Canaan.
There is plenty of recreation in New Canaan and sports and outside activity are a vital part of town. The town supports associations in Soccer, Baseball, Lacrosse, Football, Basketball, Hockey, and other sports. The High School team is competitive for state championships every year. There are a number of public golf courses nearby as well as plenty of Tennis Courts and Paddle Tennis Courts available to residents.
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The town members have a private swimming club and a private country club.